One Month Gone

It is official. I have been in Madagascar for an entire month. And yet it seems like just yesterday that I was sitting at home, watching Wallace and Gromit with my brother for the 123,210th time. Even though I have been so far away from the people I love for a month, I feel as though you all have been right here beside me the entire time. And I love knowing that I have such an amazing group of people back home thinking about me just as much.

So, anyways, enough with the sappy stuff...

The thurday after our lovely stay with the lemurs, we began studying ethnobotany. This topic mainly covers every way in which the Malagasy people use plants in their daily lives (from medicinal plants to weaving mats and baskets from reeds). After a short lecture, our group travelled to a little village called Mandromondromoto, which stood at the base of the mountains beside Fort Dauphin.

**It is this aspect of studying abroad that I think I enjoy the most. Not only do we learn in a classroom setting, but we also go out into the "field"--if you can call it that--and actually see first hand the things we discuss during lecture.

In Mandromondromoto, we talked with an association of women about their "mat weaving enterprise." Basically, the local mining company, QMM, has helped these women to set up an organization to weave mats, baskets, etc. that they can sell in the market in Fort Dauphin. The association is composed entirely of women from this village, and their craftwork allows them to make a couple of extra dollars throughout the year. We learned the intricate process of gathering the reeds, drying them (and sometimes dying them), and the assembly of the final product.

Afterwards, we walked a little farther into the village to speak with the village's traditional healer. This was one of the most interesting interviews we have had so far. We learned, through a short interview, that the healer learned all of his healing practices through spirits that come to him in his dreams. These spirits tell him what medicinal plants to use, when to perform specific healing rituals, etc. Here are some things that I learned from him:

1) He uses a certain type of seed to identify a person's illness. During the interview, he laid them out in a strategic manner, and proceeded to tell us what each row of seeds signified.

2) He believes that there is a "natural sickness" which can be cured at the hospital. Otherwise, maladies that are "placed" on an individual (perhaps by a curse, demon, or spirit) must be treated traditionally through his practices. (But he did state that he could cure the natural sicknesses as well).

3) The three most prominent illnesses that he treats include 1. mental sickness, 2. seizures and epilepsy, and 3. paralysis (and before treatment, the patient must pay 40,000 ariary--roughly equivalent to $20--and after he is healed, he must give the healer a zebu)

4) Illnesses that are the hardest for him to treat: 1. mental sickness, 2. paralysis, 3. Amboamainty (an STD of sorts--probably herpes).

5) Pregnent women must rub the blood of a black chicken on her stomach to protect her unborn child.

I was so intrigued by the fact that these practices were in no way a joke to the people living in the village. This healer was well respected, and some people had travelled across the country to seek his healing powers. It is interesting to think of how his practices would be received in the states. I plan on independently researching traditional medicine and healers more in the coming weeks.

Friday was mainly a laid back day at Libanona. We had 4 lectures in the morning before lunch, but the main topic of discussion was our upcoming stay in a rural village of southwestern Madagascar. It has been stated by numerous individuals that this village homestay is one of the most challenging parts of the entire semester. Here is a little overview of what is to be expected:

We leave Fort Dauphin Sunday morning for our 9 hour bus ride to Faux Cap, a commune of villages in the southwest. We will spend the night in Faux Cap, and on Monday, we will be "picked up" by our village families. I am staying in the small village of Anjahamboanio, which is about 3km north of Faux Cap. We are split up into groups of two, and I will be sharing my village stay with a girl named Katherine. Two other Malagasy students will join us during the day to facilitate the Malagasy language barrier (although I know our time will mainly consist of a lot of awkward hand motions). Katherine and I will be spending four days and four nights in this village, where we will be assisting in the daily life of the villagers--cultivating the crops, fetching water, killing chickens, etc.

**Most of these villagers have never before seen a white foreigner. Therefore, we will be stared at. A LOT.

I can't lie. I am apprehensive about this rural homestay. It will be difficult to spend four days with people who don't speak my language, with no running water, and where the temperature gets into the hundreds every day. But, it will be an experience that I will NEVER forget, I'm sure. I am looking forward to making the crazy memories! At the end of the stay, we will be dancing (yes dancing) all the way back to Faux Cap for the final feast. Our program, SIT, is going to sacrifice a zebu to show our appreciation for the village homestay. Fun Fun Fun!

**The rural malagasy people regard a lot of things as fady (taboo). Ex: The eastern side of the village is sacred (ie. there is no using the bathroom on the eastern side...too bad I don't have a compass!). I am most nervous about doing something taboo. Because then I will have to pay the villagers with a zebu. I am not joking one bit.

Random Side Note # 1: As I sit here in the internet café, a stike is going on outside. A large procession of Malagasy people are walking down the street in protest of the political problems in the country. The president and the mayor of Tana are still unable to work anything out, and I hope that this situation does not interfere with our upcoming travel plans to Tulear (where we do our marine sciences unit!) and Tana.

Random Side Note #2: Last night was my first experience of being sick in a foreign country. I would have to say that it was my worst experience here so far. I must have eaten something that did not agree with my stomach. I will not go into detail, but just know that I am feeling much better this morning. Oh the benefits of having a doctor for a homestay mother!

So, with all of that being said, I will not be able to check the internet for the next week or so. But, I'm sure I will return with some pretty amazing tails of village life in Madagascar.

until then,

erin elizabeth